Airbus starts preparing an improvement in their market share in Japan with industrial risk-sharing-partner for A350-1000 aircraft.

There have been some stories reporting that Japan Air Lines and All Nippon Airways may buy the A350-1000, breaking Boeing’s decades-long monopoly. It could be before Entry Into Service apparently.

“I’d be very surprised, but I can say I’m looking for an improvement in our market share in Japan. We have nowhere to go but up. I would be hopeful we will get a breakthrough in Japan, but I don’t want to predict a timeline,” Leahy said en May.

And now Rolls-Royce, the sole provider of engines for A350 XWB, recruited MHI Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to help build an upgraded power-plant for a model chasing its first orders in Japan.

Mitsubishi will be a risk sharing partner on the Trent XWB-97 that’s being devised for the largest A350 model, manufacturing turbine blades and developing other components, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement today.

The A350-1000, which takes on the Boeing 777-300ER, has 145 firm orders and is due for delivery from 2017. Rolls said last month that tests will begin soon to show it can boost the XWB’s thrust from 84,000 pounds to the required 97,000 pounds.

Mitsubishi will also gain additional work on the Trent 1000 turbine that powers the 787 Dreamliner. The Japanese company will be involved in developing the Trent 1000-TEN, an upgraded turbine aimed at powering all Dreamliners, including the 787-10, the largest version of which Boeing began selling last month.

Rolls plans to have the first development version of the 76,000 pound-thrust engine ready for testing this year.

 

Based on the article “Rolls Hands Mitsubishi A350 Work, Boosting Japan Order Prospects” published in Bloomberg